A large volume of animal food products such as chicken, turkey, beef, pork and seafood products (including livers, hearts, other parts, de-boned meat and the like) are chilled or frozen and shipped within and exported from the United States in boxes. For example, chicken thighs, legs or quarters may be shipped in cartons of about 22-28 inches in length by 14-20 inches in width by 4-12 inches in height. A typical box size for use with the present disclosure may be 24 inches by 16 inches with the height of the box varied to hold the particular products to be shipped, for example, 12 inches. A box of such dimensions containing chilled or frozen animal food product parts may weigh on the order of 30 to 45 pounds, or more.
After the food products are processed and placed in their respective boxes, the food products must be chilled to the appropriate temperature for storage, transportation, and eventual purchase by the end consumer. It may be desirable to chill food product to approximately 32.5-35 degrees Fahrenheit for fresh (not frozen) products, or to approximately −40 degrees or colder for frozen products.
Boxes containing food are placed in stacks on top of pallets for transportation, storage, or chilling. Pallets may be placed within a blast freezer/chiller/cold storage warehouse. Within such chilling area, the stacked boxes may be separated by freezer spacers, which are typically made of plastic or polymer material, and thus are relatively heavy, making them difficult to handle, ship, and store. Due to their cost, they are reused after a cooling cycle by removing from the stacked boxes, with the boxes reloaded onto a pallet for shipping, and spacers then restacked among a new stack of boxes that are to be cooled.
An airflow pad is needed that can improve the cooling processing of products.